How to bleach white things at home with hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, citric acid, whiteness? How to bleach faded white clothes?

White clothes are very beautiful and elegant. But, unfortunately, it gets dirty quickly and needs to be washed. And frequent washing, as you know, spoils things: they turn yellow, fade and lose their former newness. There are many ways to whiten white clothes at home. For these purposes, both store-bought and folk remedies are used.

White clothes are beautiful, but require special care

Is it possible to bleach a white blouse?

Wearing a product made of white wool for a long time causes it to acquire a yellow or gray tint. You can wash the item at home using special household chemicals. But it is possible to effectively remove stains and restore the snow-white color of your favorite blouse using folk remedies.

Most often things can turn gray or yellow from:

• Poor water quality;
• Ineffectiveness of the powder;
• Increased water hardness;
• Washing items with colored items.

It’s a shame to throw away the sweater, but it’s unlikely to be suitable as going-out clothing. Therefore, housewives are often interested in how to wash gray and yellowed things. This can be done if you select chemicals, wash and dry the products according to some simple rules.

How store products work

Manufacturers of washing powders or special bleaching agents for washing are inventing more and more new ways to achieve the whiteness of fabrics that are washed. It must be said that these products are quite effective, and many modern women enjoy using them. The result is good and impressive - snow-white shirts and other items of clothing and linen can be pleasing to the eye.

Store-bought products whiten things, but at the expense of aggressive chemicals.

IMPORTANT: The whole point is that manufacturers add special reflective particles to washing powders, thanks to which the effect of bright whiteness is achieved

• After all, all housewives are well aware that special powders for white linen and powders for colored fabrics are now on sale, designed to preserve their color
• So, for those who want to have white white, and colored clothes colored and not faded, advice: when purchasing, choose the appropriate laundry detergent and do not mix white clothes or linen with colored ones. Wash them separately
• And for those people who do not recognize modern chemical additives in washing powders and want to use the good old, as they consider, non-chemical agents, our advice

White items should be washed immediately.

IMPORTANT: In order for a white item not to be washed and look like new, you need to wash it on time, without storing it for later. Dirt, dust, sweat, etc. “eat into” the material, so that later it is difficult to remove them efficiently and achieve the original whiteness of the fabric

Fabric Features

The knitwear we buy in the store is made from different materials. Some items require careful gentle washing; when bleaching others, the use of chemical detergents is allowed.

Important! It is imperative to take into account the composition of the product. This information and how to care for the item are indicated on the product label.

Various components are used to produce knitted fabrics:

• Natural raw materials. These are products made of cotton, linen, wool, silk;
• Artificial fibers. These include viscose and similar compositions, acetate;
• Synthetic materials. These are raw materials such as polyester, lycra, elastane.

A quality item always contains natural ingredients. Synthetic fiber enhances its characteristics. Such clothes wrinkle less, stretch better, and return to their shape quickly. But at the same time, such a thing requires special care.

We use laundry soap

This is a fairly popular detergent for washing clothes. There are three ways to whiten with this soap.

• Products that have acquired a gray tint from numerous washes can be soaked in a solution of laundry soap before washing. 2 hours is enough. Then the laundry is rinsed and put into the washing machine. You can add an additional rinse to the main wash cycle. This will eliminate the specific smell that such soap gives to things.
• For small products, the following method is good. The item is thoroughly soaped with laundry soap and placed in a plastic bag, from which the air is then removed. The product is left in this form for a day. Then the laundry is washed in the usual way.
• The third method of using laundry soap is only suitable for cotton. To do this, you need to dissolve about a third of a bar of soap in five liters of water (this is convenient to do by grating the soap). The laundry should be boiled in the resulting solution for 60 minutes.

The best whitening products

When the question is how to bleach wool at home, it is worth considering the following brands:

• Synergetic. The manufacturer of this product produces household chemicals for washing items made from natural and synthetic fabrics. Bleach lightens clothes by 2-3 tones;
• Vanish. There is a range of both powder and liquid products. They can be complex or simply have a whitening effect;
• Selena. Bleaches are made in oxygen form, which allows them to be used by those who suffer from skin sensitivity to various chemicals;
• Amway. It cleans old stains well and effectively combats the yellowness of white things. You can use the product in both cold and warm water;
• Faberlic. The company specializes not only in cosmetics, but also in detergents. Bleaching agents contain no hazardous substances and are used for bleaching synthetic and natural fabrics;
• Ace. A more budget option when compared to other brands. The quality of the product is at a high level. Can be used for hand and machine wash.

These brands are the most popular among buyers. Their products have many positive reviews. Manufacturers produce special bleaches that do not damage fabrics and carefully clean them from stains.

Chemical bleaches

To return things to their former whiteness, housewives use chlorine-containing, oxygen, and optical brighteners. They are suitable for hand and machine washing. But the following chemicals are suitable for knitted items:

1. BOS plus Oxi. Oxygen bleach is added along with the powder or used to soak items, even in cold water. Doesn't damage clothes and is easy to rinse. Hypoallergenic, does not contain chlorine. The product cannot cope with stains from wine drinks, strawberries and cherries. Old and stubborn stains are removed only after several washes.
2. Sarma Active. The product is used for both machine and hand washing of all types of fabrics. Does not contain chlorine. The texture of things is not disturbed. Ineffective when washed in cold water. Clothes become stiff. Old stains cannot be removed in one go.
3. Vanish Oxi Action. Acts instantly, easily copes with stubborn dirt, even in cool water. Used for washing delicate items.
4. Sodasan. The product perfectly washes woolen clothes. Designed for machine washing or soaking. The optimal temperature is 40°.
5. Clean Home. Does not damage the fabric structure. Can be combined with powder. Copes with old stains. You can wash things in both cold and hot water. Doesn't work on greasy stains.

The above chemical bleaches can be used for machine washing, but soaking will be a more effective method of getting rid of stains. In addition, this does not lead to any damage to the tissue.

You should know! When using the product, it is recommended to strictly follow the instructions on the packaging. It describes how to bleach delicate items and how long to soak clothes in water with dissolved gel or powder.

Folk remedies

But another problem often arises - you need to bleach knitted clothes. Washing wool items with chemicals results in white items quickly turning gray or yellow. If you need to know how to wash a white sweater at home, you should try folk recipes. They will allow you not only to whiten things, but also not to spoil the material itself.

Boric acid

This product can be bought at any pharmacy. It's inexpensive. In order to bleach a white blouse or jacket, you must first make a solution: for 4 liters of water, take 2 tsp. acids. The water should not be very cold. You need to soak things in this water for about 2-4 hours. Be sure to rinse.

Salt

This ingredient will undoubtedly be found in every home. With its help, you can easily get rid of stains and also return gray things to their former whiteness. To do this, make a solution where 2 tbsp are taken per 1 liter of water. l. salt. Things should be soaked in water for 20 minutes, after which they should be rinsed well.

Attention! You cannot expect an immediate effect from using this product. It is necessary to soak things in saline solution up to 2-3 times. But after this, the sweater will also acquire a pleasant softness.

Potassium permangantsovka

Several crystals of potassium permanganate are added to the water. Dissolve it and add detergent. The sweater is soaked in this water for 10 minutes, and then washed as usual - in a washing machine or by hand.

Hydrogen peroxide

It is used more often to whiten synthetic items. But this remedy is also applicable for knitted fabric. For 5 liters of water take 3 tsp. facilities. The water should be at room temperature. The jacket is soaked in the prepared solution for 20 minutes, rinsed and washed.

Laundry soap

This soap even copes with problematic stains left by coffee, ink, and chocolate. Yellow stains left by deodorant also wash off without problems.

To deal with problem areas, you should lightly soap them and leave it like that for a couple of hours. Afterwards all that remains is to wash the sweater.

other methods

Many housewives use another rather unusual method of whitening - in the microwave. Kitchen towels are usually “washed” this way. First, they are soaked with water straight from the tap. Next, lather it with laundry soap, wrap it in a plastic bag and... put it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. The effect of this whitening is simply amazing.

Microwave helps whiten kitchen towels

An even more unusual way is to bleach kitchen towels using sunflower oil. The recipe is simple. For 10 liters of water you will need 1.5 tbsp. l. sunflower oil, about 30 ml of bleach and the same amount of soda. Pour the mixture directly onto dry laundry and leave for 10 hours. Then the towels need to be washed, rinsed first in hot, then in warm and finally in cold water. Whitening with sunflower oil helps remove even the oldest stains.

As you can see, bleaching clothes at home is not difficult at all. Now you don’t have to throw away your favorite blouse, T-shirt or shirt just because it has turned yellow with age or is not as rich white as it once was.

Washing and drying rules

You cannot wash knitted items like regular clothes. Products are subject to deformation, which affects their appearance. Therefore, you should be more careful when washing and drying such blouses, blouses and sweaters.

If hand washing is used to clean a knitted item (the most effective method), then it should be done according to the following step-by-step steps:

1. Cool water is poured into the basin.
2. The detergent is dissolved, soda is added to make the product softer.
3. Immerse a sweater, jacket or other similar item in the solution and leave for 2 minutes.
4. You cannot rub knitwear. It is better to take the product with your hands and start squeezing and unclenching the clothing with your palms. Movements are carried out along the product so as not to deform it.
5. After all manipulations, clothes must be rinsed thoroughly to remove the soap. The water should be at the same temperature during washing and rinsing.

The product cannot be wrung out. Just squeeze it slightly to get rid of the water.

You should know! It is not recommended to use hangers to dry products, or hang them on clotheslines. Otherwise, the weight will stretch the fabric and lose its quality.

Dry knitted clothes on a wire rack. Before doing this, you can spread a towel on the table surface, put clothes on it, and then roll it up and squeeze out the excess water.

When washing a knitted item in a washing machine, the following rules apply:

• To wash items, set the “Delicate Wash” mode. Some washing machines offer a choice of washing for wool or silk;
• Before putting things into the drum, buttons and zippers are fastened. Clothes are turned inside out;
• They use a special cover that will help protect the fabric from damage;
• You can't wash too many things at once. As the drum rotates, they will become entangled with each other. This will entail their deformation;
• The maximum water temperature is not set above 40°. If you cannot do without the “Spin” mode, then reduce its speed to a minimum in order to reduce the damage caused to the product.

How to remove stains from white fabric using folk remedies

The drugs discussed in this section are usually classified as so-called “folk” methods.

Bleach fabric with hydrogen peroxide

You can bleach fabric with peroxide in cases where it is not possible to restore a delicate item by other means. Washing using it does not require long soaking. To carry out this procedure you must:

1. Prepare 45 ml of the drug and 10 liters of well-purified boiled water.
2. Pour the peroxide into a bowl and wait until it dissolves.
3. After this, you should put the laundry in a container and wait half an hour.

After this time, you need to rinse it thoroughly and then wash it with powder.

How to bleach cotton fabric and linen with soda and laundry soap

The cleaning method with the addition of soda is not designed for delicate fabrics (it can be used for linen or cotton products). In this case, washing is carried out in the following order:

1. First, a mixture of 4.5 liters of filtered water heated to 40 degrees and 125 grams of baking soda is prepared.
2. Then a quarter of a bar of soap is grated on a fine grater and added to the previously prepared solution.
3. The resulting composition must be thoroughly mixed with wooden tongs until it becomes homogeneous.
4. After this, the laundry is loaded into the still warm mixture and soaked for 4 hours.

At the end of the work, it should be rinsed and washed as usual.

Tips for caring for white sweaters

Usually, in order to bleach clothes, they use the old method - boiling the product with whiteness. But in the case of knitted items, this method will only ruin them. Like wool, artificial acrylic becomes rusty when exposed to bleach. Therefore, when bleaching a white sweater on your own, you should adhere to the following tips:

• Products should be used without chlorine or use folk remedies;
• The water should be either room temperature or slightly cool, but there should not be large differences during washing and rinsing;
• The container should not contain chrome, otherwise the item will acquire a grayish tint. It should be ceramic, glass, enamel or plastic dishes;
• Before using chemical bleach, you should first test on a small area of ​​the sweater.

You should know! Only items that have already been washed need to be bleached. Otherwise, the dirt on the sweater will take on an unsightly shade.

If chemical bleaches cannot be used for some reason, you can always use folk remedies recipes. Moreover, to prepare them, it is enough to buy inexpensive pharmacy or household products. The bill for purchasing these goods will not affect your wallet in any way.

Useful tips

Many women are concerned about the issue of washing white clothes made from synthetic fabrics. But initially it is better to think about how to properly care for and store such things.

There are several recommendations for this:

1. Before washing, you need to sort things. Whites should be washed separately from colours.
2. Woolen, synthetic and cotton fabrics should not be washed together. This is due to the fact that they need different temperature conditions.
3. Underwear must be pre-soaked in cool water.
4. To wash white items, you need filtered water. To soften the water, you need to add a little soda.
5. White items do not need to be kept ironed.
6. Bleach should be used very carefully. Often they cannot be used, otherwise the fabric will be deformed and its structure will be disrupted.
7. Wet items should not be placed in the closet, otherwise there is a high risk of mold growth.

Caring for synthetic materials at home is easy. It is very important to follow all rules and recommendations.

How to restore the whiteness of things (faded and yellowed)

Faded material that has become stained after improper washing can be restored. To do this, use a solution based on crushed laundry soap, starch, salt and citric acid (in equal proportions). The resulting slurry is applied to the stains, soaked, and then rinsed thoroughly.

Make sure the fabric is completely dry before storing it in the closet.

To get rid of streaks, mix hot water and ammonia. Soak the clothes for 2 hours, then rinse thoroughly. If the fabric is thin, take 3% hydrogen peroxide (1 tbsp), a pinch of salt and add to 2 liters of hot water. Leave for 10 minutes.

How to refresh a white bath

When carrying out bleaching in the bathroom, you sometimes notice that it is not only the linen that requires color restoration. What should you do to restore the whiteness of the bath itself? Hard water, rust and other contaminants make its surface dull and yellowish.

• One effective method is to apply a thick layer of cleaning agent over the entire area of ​​the bathtub. After application, leave the product for 6 hours, then remove the remaining cleaning agent with a sponge and wash the bathtub.
• Citric acid copes well with yellow plaque. You need to dilute a packet of citric acid in a glass of warm water, and then lubricate the bath with this solution. After 30 minutes, you need to wash off the remaining solution with a shower.

To make white things require less attention, you should adopt several rules:

• Always wash white linens separately;
• Sort white items to be washed by fabric type;
• Add water softeners to hard water;
• Before washing, soak heavily soiled laundry separately:
• Do not apply bleach directly to fabric.